New Ward 3 Middle School ???

[Anonymous]

Dont know for sure, but this sounds as against charter rules as anything else discussed here.

Charters are open to all - school choice
Neighborhood school for IB kids, unless there are vacancies.

Reserving spaces in charter schools in your area because you don't like the neighborhood DCPS schools is not an option.

It sounds similar to the ward 3 idea of building another DCPS middle school there so the parents can avoid the current option - Hardy - that they don't like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dont know for sure, but this sounds as against charter rules as anything else discussed here.

Charters are open to all - school choice
Neighborhood school for IB kids, unless there are vacancies.

Reserving spaces in charter schools in your area because you don't like the neighborhood DCPS schools is not an option.

It sounds similar to the ward 3 idea of building another DCPS middle school there so the parents can avoid the current option - Hardy - that they don't like.

No it is not similar to Ward 3 getting an additional DCPS middle school. That is redundancy. Ward 5 doesn't have a middle school. and the residents and their council rep don't seem particularly excited about getting a DCPS middle school in ward 5. but what might excite them is gettign a charter school in ward 5 that guarantees admission to ward 5 students-- but that would also be free to take in students from other wards.

[Anonymous]

That just ain't gonna happen. It violates the charter admissions rules. I would like to see some charters able to give entrance exams (if they are trying to design a G &F program for example). I do not think it would be fair or wise for charters to base admissions on geography though. And it is not currently legal (nor are entrance exams).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dont know for sure, but this sounds as against charter rules as anything else discussed here.

Charters are open to all - school choice
Neighborhood school for IB kids, unless there are vacancies.

Reserving spaces in charter schools in your area because you don't like the neighborhood DCPS schools is not an option.

It sounds similar to the ward 3 idea of building another DCPS middle school there so the parents can avoid the current option - Hardy - that they don't like.

No it is not similar to Ward 3 getting an additional DCPS middle school. That is redundancy. Ward 5 doesn't have a middle school. and the residents and their council rep don't seem particularly excited about getting a DCPS middle school in ward 5. but what might excite them is gettign a charter school in ward 5 that guarantees admission to ward 5 students-- but that would also be free to take in students from other wards.

It seems like W3 in that parents are rationalizing why their ward should get special treatment with public monies. Some in ward 3 want another middle school, knowing they could fill it with desirable white kids in their neighborhood and desirable people from other areas, willing to travel.

Some W5 people do not want a middle school, because they think it will not attract a desirable element, so instead want special charter rules that will favor their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No it is not similar to Ward 3 getting an additional DCPS middle school. That is redundancy. Ward 5 doesn't have a middle school. and the residents and their council rep don't seem particularly excited about getting a DCPS middle school in ward 5. but what might excite them is gettign a charter school in ward 5 that guarantees admission to ward 5 students-- but that would also be free to take in students from other wards.

It seems like W3 in that parents are rationalizing why their ward should get special treatment with public monies. Some in ward 3 want another middle school, knowing they could fill it with desirable white kids in their neighborhood and desirable people from other areas, willing to travel.

Some W5 people do not want a middle school, because they think it will not attract a desirable element, so instead want special charter rules that will favor their kids.



I got the impression from the ward 5 folks that I know that they aren't much interested in a new ward 5 middle school because they don't trust that DCPS will provide the school with the resources that they see in the charter schools in ward 5. that is different from fearing a DCPS middle school will attract an undesirable element. But, you say tomato . . .

[Anonymous]

And DCPS dreams of keeping the high SES kids in the system so that test scores keep trending up even if they've let all the experienced teachers and administrators go.

[Anonymous]

So those not in bound at Hardy can stay at Hardy as it's better for them - perhaps the trip across town serves as a barrier to their neighbors they'd prefer not to see in school.

And DCPS can organize a replacement to the original Hardy (now the Lab school) on Foxhall.

Gotta love this town.

[Anonymous]

No, I'm throwing out the idea of an "in bound" equivalent for charter schools.

[Anonymous]

And DCPS dreams of keeping the high SES kids in the system so that test scores keep trending up even if they've let all the experienced teachers and administrators go.

Unless it doesn't. I don't see any evidence of this in Ward 5. Maybe DCPS isn't paying any attention to the demographics, or maybe it just doesn't care. But Ward 5's high SES kids, and there are a lot of them, aren't attending public schools. Oh, wait, you said "dreaming." Well, dreaming and taking action to change something are two separate things.

I too am skeptical that a new Ward 5 middle school will do much to attract high SES Ward 5 families. But it COULD help address the fact that the Ward 5 "education campus" experiment, as far as I can see, has been a complete failure. You can't just add 6th and 7th graders to elementary schools, with no added resources, and wash your hands of the matter. I've been told that trying to accomodate the older kids at previously elementary-only schools has had the effect of straining resources and making a mess of things in the earlier grades. If middle schoolers have someplace else to go, DCPS and Ward 5 parents could really focus on making the elementary schools in Ward 5 something special. Regardless, I totally agree with another poster-- the effort to attract middle class Ward 5 kids needs to start with elementary school (or even earlier, with preschool).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I'm throwing out the idea of an "in bound" equivalent for charter schools.

Throwing out as in disposing of or as in opening up? If the latter, it's a non-starter - charter schools by definition are open to all in the city with no boundaries and thus a choice for people who don't want to be stuck with their in-bound school

[Anonymous]

Ah - the educational campus strategy -- maybe that's the reason tDCPS won't consider a middle school in W5- they'd have to admit failure and they can't do that

[Anonymous]

quote]

No it is not similar to Ward 3 getting an additional DCPS middle school. That is redundancy. Ward 5 doesn't have a middle school. and the residents and their council rep don't seem particularly excited about getting a DCPS middle school in ward 5. but what might excite them is gettign a charter school in ward 5 that guarantees admission to ward 5 students-- but that would also be free to take in students from other wards.

Ah, you are making up your own facts. That really is not unusual considering this is DCUM and posters seem to believe that they can post any crap out of their mouths that is meant to come out of their arse. The residents of Ward 5 are interested in a middle school that offers advance math, science, languages and technology. The residents of Ward 5 are not interested in the junk that DCPS has consistently provided over the years, thus forcing those with choice to walk to private, charterand OOB schools. There have been meetings throughout Ward 5, well at least in Brookland and Woodridge, with the current CC, Kaya Henderson and the like expressing such views. How the hell would you know what we want. Oh, I know. Make some crap up to take away from the fact that you want a nice pretty new school in Ward 3 for Ward 3 residents only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah - the educational campus strategy -- maybe that's the reason tDCPS won't consider a middle school in W5- they'd have to admit failure and they can't do that

What will DCPS do when all the kids in Ward 5 leave after the 3rd grade. As more and more charters open, DCPS lose more and more students. At the rate the educational campuses are going, there will soon be no need for DCPS schools in Ward 5. Kaya needs to get her act together and not allow Rhee's bad decisions pull Kaya down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So those not in bound at Hardy can stay at Hardy as it's better for them - perhaps the trip across town serves as a barrier to their neighbors they'd prefer not to see in school.

The only reason so many OOB Hardy kids can stay there is that the IB parents don't want their kids there with so many OOB (let's call them Black) kids. If the IB kids started going to Hardy, there'd be fewer spaces for OOB kids and because it's not a charter, IB would take precedence.

But IB parents are asking the city to build a new school for them instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:quote]

No it is not similar to Ward 3 getting an additional DCPS middle school. That is redundancy. Ward 5 doesn't have a middle school. and the residents and their council rep don't seem particularly excited about getting a DCPS middle school in ward 5. but what might excite them is gettign a charter school in ward 5 that guarantees admission to ward 5 students-- but that would also be free to take in students from other wards.

Ah, you are making up your own facts. That really is not unusual considering this is DCUM and posters seem to believe that they can post any crap out of their mouths that is meant to come out of their arse. The residents of Ward 5 are interested in a middle school that offers advance math, science, languages and technology. The residents of Ward 5 are not interested in the junk that DCPS has consistently provided over the years, thus forcing those with choice to walk to private, charterand OOB schools. There have been meetings throughout Ward 5, well at least in Brookland and Woodridge, with the current CC, Kaya Henderson and the like expressing such views. How the hell would you know what we want. Oh, I know. Make some crap up to take away from the fact that you want a nice pretty new school in Ward 3 for Ward 3 residents only.

Why in the world would you think I am from ward 3??? And that I am pitching for a new middle school in ward 3?? I opened by saying that ward 3 getting an additional DCPS middle school is a redundancy! Redundancy is bad, wasteful, and wrong (ha ha ha!)

Anyway, currently there is chatter about requiring all charter schools in New Orleans-- which, after all, are receiving taxpayer money to provide a service to taxpayers so they should be held accountable to those taxpayers-- to provide a preference to those in the school's immediate neighborhood. This topic is mentioned (albeit tagentally) here : http://www.edweek.org/chat/2010/08/27/index.html?qs=new_orleans.

So the idea of one charter school in one ward of DC working as a demonstation or pilot project to provide the citizens of ward 5 with a middle school that guarantees their admission (while also being allowed to take in students from other wards-- as many as they like, I see no reason to limit it as long as every ward 5 parent that wants their child in that school is accomodated) doesn't seem crazy to me. If the neighborhood is needing a middle school and a charter is willing to provide it, and willing to accept the requireemnt that it serve all ward 5 middle school kids that want to attend the school, why not try it out? city provides a closed up ward 5 school building to the charter and the charter provides the school. Devil is in the details, but I imagine it could work very well for all parties